Total Juice Plus (631 Vine St., Downtown, 513-784-1666) has been serving natural fruit smoothies, wraps and fresh squeezed juices to the weekday downtown population for over a decade. Emil Mallat has been the owner for the past six years. With only two other employees, he does it all — from cooking, cleaning and managing to doing the books and promoting.

Carry-out lunch means fast food for many of my fellow downtown cubicle dwellers, but I stick to the indies. I have a few tried and trues nearby that I rely on, coincidentally all on Vine Street): Total Juice Plus, Mythos on the Square, Sunny Deli and Fred and Gari's.